The KCSE results, in most cases determines who gets and who doesn’t get to university, college, polytechnic etc, how fast they get there and how much money they spend to finally get a chance to get a degree, diploma or certificate of their own.

What teachers tell students in high school in Kenya

Like in other areas of life, high school has teachers that will tell you that you begin failing in life once you get a bad grade in KCSE (a synonym for failing to join university or a prestigious college).

Growing up in a society that still believes so much that one’s success is greatly determined by their academic success, many students cannot do anything but believe what their teachers say.

Whether at home or in school, teachers and parents will always repeat the same thing:

However, they should consider that even if they use that tactic to inspire their students into working harder, their tone and choice of words sometimes help them achieve the exact opposite.

That’s why you’ll find more students who consider themselves failures even before they sit their national examination.

And that’s perhaps why cheating in the national examination is so an attractive option to thousands of students. It is also the reason why many schools go to great lengths to get examination papers before the official examination dates.

All this just proves how our society is so afraid of academic failures – for the simple fact that it is one of the major highways that lead to miserable, poverty-filled life.

Can KCSE really determine how successful you become after high school?

Yes and no.

Yes because if you are a person who isn’t ready to nurture their talent and dedicate time to teach themselves new things related to their talent, you’ll only have to depend on a good grade to get a better pay to support yourself in life in the years to come.

I am in no way insinuating that:

Students who don’t nurture their talents now can’t ever start doing it at any time they so choose.

Students should not work hard towards attaining academic excellence because they have great talent they are working on. I know how important education (and the certificate at the end of secondary school education) is to many Kenyans. Plus, there are a ton of other things that lead to a successful life that can be learned by anyone, outside the classroom.

Students who understand this are able to do great things even after attaining low KCSE grades.

You can get back to high school and re-sit the national examination. You can upgrade individual subjects in various colleges, universities and other institutions offering higher education (usually takes under 6 months). You can start with a certificate or diploma and move up the ladder.

Do you know how to get what you want in life?

As long as you know what you want to do with your life, the next thing you’ll think about is:

How do I get there?

Now, students will do different things here. Simply because student A is not student B and student C may not have the same goals as student A or B.

I don’t know what you want in life or how you want to get there but I am sure you’ll be glad to read more articles on this site to help you in your quest to become a better person and lead a successful life regardless of what transpired in your past.